Question: I am purchasing an apartment in Paris. I am being charged on top of the purchase price for the refrigerator, stove, oven, dishwasher etc. Is this normal?  Normally, appliances and/or furniture are not included in the sale of an apartment. However, you can agree with the seller to buy them along with the property.

Question: In a French property transaction, who pays the selling agency’s fee, the buyer or the seller, and is it negotiable? Standard practice in France is that the selling agency’s fees normally amount to around 5% of the purchase price of the property. The fees are agreed between the seller and the real estate agent […]

Real estate is in a class of its own when it comes to investment in alternative asset classes (i.e. not stocks, bonds or cash), a recent survey by Morgan Stanley reveals. Of U.S. high net worth (NHW) investors with $1million dollars or more in financial assets, 77% own real estate, while 35% own Real Estate […]

Paris is a densely populated city with a high proportion of apartments to houses. Gardens and outside spaces are therefore at a premium. However, there are various ways of finding or creating an external space.

We reported recently on the government’s flagship piece of legislation on housing and property rentals: the loi ALUR/Duflot. The French Parliament had passed the law but right-wing senators and members of Parliament referred it to the Constitutional Council on the grounds that parts of it might be anti-constitutional.

One of the French government’s flagship laws has been censured on the grounds that parts of it may be anti-constitutional. The law would have altered key aspects of rental agreements, including short-term rentals.

I’m planning to sell my Paris apartment, which I bought in mid-2007. The deed of sale had a number of diagnostic reports attached. Which of these do I have to have redone, what paperwork do I need to supply and who pays for it all – me or the buyer?

Good news for real estate buyers in Paris: the City of Paris has decided not to increase its share of stamp duty on property sales as of March 1st 2014. That portion of stamp duty will remain at 3.8% of the purchase price instead of rising to 4.5%.

Mortgage rates in France have been at historic lows in recent months. However, the outlook for the next move in interest rates has changed markedly over this period. During the summer of 2013, commentators expected French mortgage rates to rise before the end of the year. In the early fall, this was pushed out to […]

An interview with our collaborator Nicole von Klencke, owner-manager of Unusual Spaces in Berlin. She personally advises clients who seek high-end real estate tailored to their specific needs. 1.    What are your customers typically looking to buy? Our customers want something special, so we offer only architecturally-interesting or exclusive properties with a fascinating history. […]